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January 17, 2025 13 mins
In the episode of the Bell's Books and Blog Podcast, Jane M. Bell explores chilling tales from Russian history. The journey begins with the catastrophic retreat of Napoleon's Grande Armée from Moscow in 1812, examining how harsh winter, starvation, potential sabotage, and alleged stolen treasures played into the fall of Napoleon's empire. Then, the focus shifts to the mysterious life and death of Grigori Rasputin, known as the 'Mad Monk,' whose chilling prophecy came true with his death and the downfall of the Romanov dynasty. Finally, the podcast delves into the captivity and execution of the Romanov family during the Russian revolution, discussing various rumors of attempted rescue missions and the family's life in Siberia. Jane rounds off the episode by inviting listeners to share their thoughts about the discussed mysteries, emphasizing the importance of keeping history alive.
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Bell's Books and Blog podcast, the place
where history, mystery, and suspense converge. I'm your host, author
Jane M. Bell. I'm thrilled to have you with me
today as we embark on a journey through some of
the most chilling tales from Russian history. Picture this icy
winds that whisper secrets, snow covered landscapes hiding conspiracies, and

(00:26):
the bitter cold shaping the destinies of empires. Today's episode
is going to be a frigid adventure as we explore
three intriguing stories. First, we'll delve into the disastrous retreat
of Napoleon's Grande Armee from Moscow, a campaign marked by starvation,
relentless cold, and mysterious whispers of sabotage. Then we'll unravel

(00:47):
the chilling prophecy of Grigory Resputen, the so called mad
monk whose death in icy waters still haunts history. Finally,
we'll uncover the tragic final days of the Romanov family,
shrouded in secrets and conspiracies as they face their fateful
end in a frozen Siberian exile. So grab a warm drink,
bundle up, and get ready to step with me into

(01:09):
a world where ice and intrigue intertwine. Let's begin this
frosty journey. Let's start our journey with the harrowing tale
of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in eighteen twelve. It remains
one of history's most enthralling stories, revealing both the towering
ambitions and the devastating downfall of an empire. In June

(01:30):
of eighteen twelve, Napoleon Bonaparte launched his Grande Armee into Russia,
a force of over six hundred thousand soldiers drawn from
across Europe. His goal was simple yet grand subdues are
Alexander the Firs and secure French dominance over the continent.
With unshaken confidence, the French forces advanced deep into Russian territory,
capturing Moscow by September. However, triumph quickly soured. Russian commanders

(01:56):
employed a scorched earth policy, burning supplies and retreating steadily.
By the time Napoleon's forces entered Moscow, the city was
deserted and left in flames. This left his troops stranded
without resources to sustain them through the coming winter. Faced
with starvation, plummeting morale, and abiding Russian winter, Napoleon decided

(02:17):
to retreat. By October, the Grande Arme began its westward
march in what can only be described as a nightmare.
With temperatures plunging to minus thirty degrees fahrenheit, Soldiers froze
where they stood, horses perished in vast numbers, turning the
retreat into a grim death march. As if the elements
weren't enough, Russian forces and Cossack raiders relentlessly harried the

(02:40):
retreating troops, striking with precision before disappearing into the snow.
Disease and starvation ravaged the army, and by November, when
Napoleon's forces crossed the Berezina River in a desperate attempt
to escape, the once mighty Grande Armeaie had been reduced
to fewer than fifty thousand men. The disaster was so
complete that whispers of sabotage and betrayal began to circulate.

(03:04):
Some believed that spies within Napoleon's ranks had provided intelligence
to the Russians, aiding their scorched earth tactics. Allegations even
arose within France itself that Marshall Claude Victor Perin, responsible
for protecting key supply lines, had either negligently or deliberately
failed in his duties. Adding to the intrigue is the
legend of stolen treasures. During the retreat, Napoleon's army carried

(03:29):
wagons filled with valuables looted from Moscow, gold, jewels, priceless artifacts.
As chaos overtook the retreat, much of this treasure reportedly vanished.
Some accounts suggest soldiers buried the Loute to lighten their load,
while others hint that Cossacks reclaimed it during their assaults.
Treasure seekers have scoured the path of Napoleon's retreat for centuries,

(03:51):
yet the fate of these treasures remains a tantalizing mystery. Ultimately,
the Russian campaign drained Napoleon's resources and shattered his empires strength.
The loss of over half a million men weakened French
military might and emboldened its enemies. By eighteen fourteen, coalitions
of European powers had forced Napoleon into exile, and his

(04:12):
dream of continental domination lay in ruins. Napoleon's retreat from
Moscow serves as a somber reminder of how ambition can
lead to devastating consequences. The brutal, cold, relentless attacks, and
whispers of betrayal combined to obliterate one of history's greatest armies,
forever altering the course of European history. Our next tale

(04:34):
plunges us into the chilling mystery surrounding Grigory Resputant, a
man whose very name is synonymous with mysticism and controversy.
Known as the Mad Monk, Resputant's life and death have
fueled countless rumors and debates. His relationship with the Romanov
family and his eerie prophecy about his own demise have
cemented his place in history as one of Russia's most

(04:55):
enigmatic figures. Resputant was born in eighteen sixty nine to
a peasant family in Siberia, a region as harsh and
mysterious as the stories that would come to surround him.
His rise to power began with his reputation as a
mystic and healer, a holy man. Despite frequent accusations of debauchery,
his purported healing abilities, especially his treatment of the hemophilic

(05:19):
air Alexei Romanov, earned him a spot in the inner
circle of Tsar Nicholas the Second and Sarena Alexandra. But
with great power came great resentment. Resputant's influence over the
royal family did not sit well with the Russian nobility
and political elite. Many saw him as a destabilizing force,
a symbol of all that was wrong with the Romanov regime.

(05:41):
Amid growing unrest in Russia, Resputant reportedly penned a prophetic
letter to Tsar Nicholas the Second in nineteen sixteen. In it,
he warned, if I am killed by common men, you
and your children will rule for centuries to come. But
if I am killed by nobles, your family will not
survive for more than two years. This prophet would prove
disturbingly accurate. The plot against Resputant thickened on the night

(06:04):
of December thirtieth, nineteen sixteen. He was invited to the
Moika Palace by Prince Felix Yusupov and Grand Duke Dmitri
Pavlovitch under the guise of a friendly gathering. What followed
reads like a morbid thriller. According to accounts by the conspirators,
Resputant was given cakes and wine laced with cyanide, yet
showed no signs of poisoning. In a panic, they shot

(06:27):
him multiple times, but Resputant remained resistant, seemingly refusing to die. Ultimately,
they bound him and threw him into the frozen Never River.
When his body was recovered, it was suggested he may
have still been alive when submerged beneath the ice. Winter
played a critical role in Resputant's death. The freezing temperatures
preserved his body, complicating efforts to hide their crime. The

(06:51):
icy river itself became a symbol of his eerie prophecy,
raising questions about whether the conspirators chose this method deliberately
to fulfill his fateful warning. His prophecy manifested almost immediately.
Within two years of his assassination, the Russian Revolution brought
the downfall of the Romanov dynasty. Tsar Nicholas the second,

(07:12):
Sarena Alexandra, and their children were executed in nineteen eighteen,
fulfilling Resputant's forewarning. Resputant's legacy is one of fascinating contradictions.
A figure of mysticism and scandal, revered and reviled in
equal measure, his death continues to be a subject of intrigue,
with some questioning whether the gruesome details of his final

(07:32):
moments were exaggerated by his killers to justify their actions.
Resputant's tale is a chilling reminder of how intertwined fate
and history can be, especially when the harsh Russian winter
plays a role. As we move forward, will dive into
another story marked by frost and secrecy, the tragic final
days of the Romanov family. As the frost of the

(07:54):
Russian winter gripped the land in nineteen seventeen, the Romanov
family faced the final chapter of their reign. Once the
rulers of one of history's most powerful empires, Tsar Nicholas
the Second, Sarena Alexandra, and their five children found themselves
prisoners of the Bolsheviks, isolated from the outside world. The
downfall of the Romanovs truly began in March nineteen seventeen,

(08:17):
when Tsar Nicholas the Second abdicated the throne, ending more
than three hundred years of Romanov rule. The family was
initially placed under house arrest at the Alexander Palace and
later relocated to Tubolsk, a remote Siberian town. As revolutions
swept through Russia, the Romanovs became symbolic of the old regime,
seen as the last vestiges of a bygone era. By

(08:41):
the time the Bolsheviks seized power later that year, the
Romanov family was transferred to Yakaterinburg, where they were held
in the Aptev House, ominously nicknamed the House of Special Purpose.
During this period of captivity, rumors began to swirl about
secret plots to rescue the Romanovs. Anarchists, foreign allies, and

(09:01):
even rogue Bolsheviks were rumored to have schemed to free
the family from their dire situation. One of the most
persistent rumors involved King George fifth of Britain, Czar Nicholas
the Second's cousin. Initially, the British government extended an offer
of asylum to the Romanovs, but political concerns in Britain's
own fragile monarchy led to the withdrawal of this offer.

(09:23):
Some historians suggest that the British royal family could have
acted more decisively, though the chaotic circumstances of the time
made any rescue mission highly improbable. Loyalists among the White
Army also reportedly devised plans to free the Romanovs while
they were in Siberia. These groups aimed to storm the
apati of house or intercept the family during a transfer

(09:43):
to a safer location, but logistical challenges, infighting, and the
relentless advance of the Red Army thwarted these efforts. Life
in captivity for the Romanovs was bleak and filled with uncertainty.
They were confined within the cold walls of the Aptiv house,
isolated from the outside world. The captors confiscated their valuables,

(10:05):
restricted their movements, and limited their interactions with others. Despite
these grim conditions, the family tried to maintain a semblance
of normalcy through daily prayers, reading, and household chores. Nicholas
himself wrote in his diary about the excruciating monotony of
their days and the bitter cold that seemed to seep
into every aspect of their lives. However, the families hope

(10:28):
for a possible rescue or release remained unfulfilled. On the
night of July sixteenth, seventeen, nineteen eighteen, the Bolsheviks awakened
the Romanovs, telling them they were being moved to a
safer location. In a tragic turn of fate, the family
was led to a basement, where they were executed by
a firing squad. The brutal and hurried execution shocked the

(10:49):
world and gave rise to decades of speculation and myths
about their fate. Despite DNA evidence confirming the deaths of
all family members, the conspiracies surrounding their demise persists to
this day. The Romanov Family's final Winter is not just
a tale of captivity and execution, but also a story
filled with what ifs and lingering mysteries. Their tragic end

(11:11):
serves as a powerful reminder of the fragility of power
and the harsh realities of revolution. They went from ruling
an empire to being executed in a basement within just
over a year, leaving behind a legacy that continues to
captivate historians and the public alike. The Romanov story, marked
by loyalty, betrayal, and a tragic end, is a somber

(11:32):
reflection of a lost era. Their legacy endures as a
symbol of the dramatic and often brutal shifts in history
where even the greatest empires can be brought down by
internal upheaval and external pressures. As we wrap up today's
frosty journey through Russian history, I want to share a
few famous quotes that resonate deeply with our tales of

(11:53):
empires and revolutions. Will Durant once said, all great empires
die from within before they are conquer heard from without,
and Simon Shauma poignantly noted revolution is a tragedy, restoration
is a tragedy. Between them, a generation can be lost.
These reflections underscore the complex and often tragic nature of

(12:14):
historical transformations and the human cost that comes with them. Now,
i'd love to hear from you after delving into the
Romanov family's final days. Do you believe the rumors of
secret rescue missions hold any truth or were they merely
conspiracy theories born out of desperation. Send me a message
with your thoughts. I can't wait to read your perspectives.

(12:36):
Speaking of intriguing stories, I'm reminded of one my grandmother
often shared. She was absolutely convinced that she once met
Anastasia Romanov. Though my grandmother wasn't born until nineteen twenty,
the rumors and mysteries surrounding the Romanov family persisted for decades,
capturing the imaginations of many. I appreciate you joining me

(12:56):
on this journey through these curious and chilling stories from
Russian history. Your feedback and messages always make my day,
so keep them coming. Thank you for joining me today
on the Bells Books and Blog podcast. It's been a
fascinating and chilling journey through some of the most curious
tales from Russian history. Don't forget to check the show
notes for any links or references mentioned in today's episode.

(13:19):
Your engagement and curiosity mean the world to me, so
please keep sharing your thoughts and stories As we delve
into the past. It's amazing to unearth the secrets and
mysteries that continue to captivate. Join me again next week
for another thrilling episode where we'll explore even more historical
enigmas and suspenseful tales. Until then, keep questioning, keep exploring,

(13:42):
and most importantly, keep the past alive.
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